Paris: France coach Didier Deschamps urged his players to be constantly mindful of Cristiano Ronaldo in Sunday's Euro 2016 final and insisted that the Ballon d'Or will be a battle between the Portugal captain and Lionel Messi.

Deschamps said he wanted France's rising star Antoine Griezmann to be on the World Player of the Year list but he would have to wait to get the honour.

"Antoine is still a young player, even if he has had a very great season. Ronaldo has been at the summit for seven or eight years. There are two men in for the Ballon d'Or - its between him and Messi," said the coach.

Deschamps accepts that Ronaldo is often unstoppable.

"If there's an anti-Ronaldo plan, no one has found it. I am still looking for it. He is unstoppable," Deschamps told a press conference at Stade de France on Saturday.

Ronaldo, 31, carries his country's hopes of victory into the final, where Fernando Santos hopes to become the first coach to lead Portugal to a major title.

"He's a really great player with athletic quality, particularly in the air," said the former France captain, who has a fully fit squad at his disposal. "He really hangs in the air - those chocolate squares (abdominal muscles) don't count for nothing. In football, the most difficult things to fight against are pace and aerial ability. It will be important to remain attentive and restrict his influence."

Deschamps, 47, is bidding to win his first trophy as France manager, having previously led the country to glory as a player in the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. Asked how he transmitted his winning mentality to his players, he said: "It's the quality of the players, above all, and the team spirit. It's my work with my staff.

"We've had two years of friendly matches (because France, as hosts, did not have to qualify). We didn't win them all, but we did our best to preserve that team spirit. Asked if a final should be treated as a unique moment or as a routine match, he said: "A bit of both. It's an exceptional moment because there's a title at stake but you must not think too much about it.

Meanwhile, Portugal manager Fernando Santos would like nothing more than to win the final without deserving it after living with criticism of his team's playing style through the tournament.

"Let them continue saying the same thing, that Portugal won without deserving it," Santos, whose news conferences are littered with dry humour, told reporters on Saturday. "I would go home really happy."

Santos said he always believed Portugal would win the tournament and he was sticking to his guns, even though he recognised that France were favourites.

"Now they are in the final and playing at home, France are the favourites. But it's one thing to be favourites and another to win and I believe that Portugal will win," he said. "